The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday announced the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and his Adamawa State counterpart, Ahmadu Fintiri, as leaders of its campaign team for the Edo State Governorship election.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, who made this public in Abuja on Friday, disclosed that while Wike would serve as the chairman of the campaign council, Fintri would be the deputy chairman.
Also in the 77 member team are 13 other PDP governors and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.
National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, is expected to inaugurate the campaign council at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Yakubu Dogara-led Peoples Democratic Party Screening Committee for the Ondo State governorship election, on Friday, cleared seven out of the nine aspirants seeking to contest the party’s primary slated for July 22-23, 2020.
Dogara said this while responding to questions from journalists at the PDP National Secretariat, Abuja.
He explained that two aspirants were found ineligible to contest the primary but said they were free to approach the appeal committee on Monday to seek redress.
Dogara, however, declined to name the two aspirants who failed the committee’s scrutiny.
He said, “I’m not happy to report this to you; two failed the litmus test, but that’s not to say that they have been disqualified.
“We don’t have the powers to disqualify anybody. There’s still the opportunity of redress at the appeal panel, which will sit on Monday.
“So, if any of the two candidates that didn’t pass the screening feels some kind of miscarriage of justice was done, they have the opportunity to appeal.
“We started this work yesterday (Thursday). You saw the number of hours we took to painstakingly go through every claim made by the aspirants and the documents they submitted. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to finish.
“We reconvened around 1pm today (Friday) which gave us the opportunity to grill the candidates. The intention is that anybody who passes through the screening would have almost like a bankable case that cannot be challenged anywhere.”
However, our correspondent gathered that the two aspirants were disqualified due to what a source close to the party described as “discrepancies in the names on their credentials.”
He said the two aspirants could be cleared by the appeal panel sitting, which would sit on Monday once able to bring evidence to prove their case.
“These certificate issue is a front burner in political cases in Nigeria today,” the source added.
Aspirants who took part in the screening were: Eyitayo Jegede; Senator Boluwaji Kunlere; Deputy Governor, Dr Agboola Ajayi; Dr Eddy Olafeso; Banji Okunomo; Bode Ayorinde; Otunba Bamidele Akingboye; Mr Godday Erewa; and Mr Sola Ebiseeni.
